This one’s is going to be a bit different, because we have recently had yet another mass shooting at a school. I can no longer be silent about my thoughts, my feelings, and my responses to this disgusting thing that America is going through. 

I have been in a rage-hole for the past 72 hours, and I’m petrified to send my youngest to school. If you are going through something similar – this one’s for you. 

But first-things-first, I want to hold a little space for anyone who has already been first-hand affected by one of these tragedies. There are no words. “I’m sorry” is not enough, thoughts and prayers are not enough, but I see you and there is space for your grief here. Space for your anger and your despair.

I want to draw my line in the sand and note that I deeply believe in getting assault-style weapons out of the hands of sick people to protect children. One of the biggest issues we face in this time is the fact that we spend our precious energy regurgitating things that we’ve heard and getting into heated debates around what needs to happen moving forward, but we end up wasting that precious energy. Our system is designed to separate us, and designed to keep those in power in power to fill their pockets. And yes, this topic ends up getting political, and that’s just how our system looks right now. But if all we are doing is taking our rage and anger and pointing it at our neighbor, we aren’t actually driving change and that isn’t actually helping us. 

i want to use this podcast to call-out our commonality. our ONEness, regardless of where we differ.

The desire we all have to protect our children. I want to talk about how to take care of ourselves as we navigate the emotions, the fear, and the uncertainty.

Here’s what has been helping me, and where you can start helping you:

• Normalize the rage. Name it with compassion and identify how it shows up for you. Don’t stuff it, don’t ignore it, acknowledge it and move it through your body. 

• Double-down on your energy cleansing and clearing. I love cleansing meditations, binaural beats, deep breathing, and visualization techniques (to name a few). These little practices are the reasons why I can show up in the world the way that I do, and they have changed my life. 

• Practice journaling. This is where I flush out the nastiest thoughts of my mind. It’s just a brain dump of the scary stories and the fears. This works as an outlet. 

• Meet yourself where you are and tend to yourself. Today I’m going to rest, I’m going to join Mom’s Demand, I’m going to disconnect, I’m going to make a post – whatever it is that day. And then decide what you need tomorrow, tomorrow. 

• Love on your humans. The love that you show your kids has a ripple effect and it can impact the world. Break the cycles of abuse and trauma that so many people face, because while there is a lot of evil in this world there is also a lot of hurt. Hurt people hurt people. Creating safe homes and unconditional love has a ripple effect. 

• Double-down on your physical and emotional well-being. Double-down on your boundaries. Do not take on other people’s stuff, and only give to the things that matter to you. We need you healthy, hydrated and rested to drive real change mama. 

• Practice presence. Ground yourself throughout the day and be present with your kids. Remind yourself that in this present moment you are safe. 

• Practice trusting. Try to clear out the noise and remember humanity. Remember that we can come together and find new solutions. Remember that every day is a new, fresh start. The process of faith and trusting isn’t an easy one, but give it a try anyway. 

• Take the aligned action. Take action toward change. Make the calls, donate to the things that will make a difference, show up at the capitol, tap into the new solutions. 

It’s important to feel the rage, and it’s crucial that we tend to ourselves through it. Do the delicate dance of taking action and resting, because we were not designed to push through 24/7.

i know that when we as women and mothers step outside the noise and put our heads together, anything is possible. 

Take care of yourselves and therefore each other!

xo, brooke jean